


Deal with the Devil

by RexxieRoulette



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, Bets, F/M, High School, Leather jackets are hot, Prom, Slow Burn, What are tags I'm lost
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2018-11-16 20:35:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11260509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RexxieRoulette/pseuds/RexxieRoulette
Summary: Jughead Jones is a resident bad boy, well known around Riverdale for being a Serpent alongside his bestfriends Archie Andrews and Joaquin DeSantos. When a bet enlists Jughead ask uptight, nerdy Betty Cooper to the prom, will he take it? Will he run? How will Betty react?Permanent hiatus from this because Kpop ruins my life!If something is interested in taking over this and finishing it let me know!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'M BACK! Justkidding. I was gone like a week. And since my hiatus from working, my life is boring and writing gives me meaning. So here it is. A new multichapter fic. No idea how long this will be, so lets figure it out as we go, ok? Forever my love.

“No.”

 

Jughead shook his head, cigarette teetering between his lips. He was seated beside Archie, resident boy-next-door turned Serpent. They both stared blankly at the freshman standing before them, still reeling from the bizarre question.

 

“Why not?” The boy pleads, big brown puppy eyes.

 

Jughead grunts, leaning back against the bars of the railing. Lighting his cigarette, he takes a long drag before blowing the smoke out in the boys face. “Why should I?”

 

“I’ll pay you money! Please!” The boy was on his knees now. Archie raised an eyebrow, glancing at Jughead.

 

“Why would I get involved in dumb _jock_ business because you asked me to?” Jughead leaned forward, hands on his knees. He quirked an eyebrow, waiting.

 

“Because you’re Serpents! Even the _jocks_ don’t mess with you guys,” The boy cried out, hands coming around Jughead’s ankle. “I just need you to talk to me in the halls. Just to prove I know you guys. So they think twice about messing with me. Please?” He placed a chaste kiss on Jughead’s combat boot, then one on Archie’s sneaker.

 

Archie smirked, watching. “How much?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“How much money you gonna pay us?”

 

“$100!” He reaches into his pocket, pulling out the bills.

 

Archie glanced at Jughead, before nodding slightly. “Deal. But it’s only for a second. Don’t talk to us afterward, got it?” Archie grabbed the money, then the collar of the boys shirt, pulling his face close. “Got it?” The boy nodded furiously, eyes frantic. Archie lets go of his collar, taking a step back. After the boy scrambles away, tail between his legs, Jughead lets out a low chuckle.

 

“Easiest $100 of my life.”

 

“Sup guys.” Joaquin appeared before them. “What was with the nerd running off?” He jutted his thumb over his shoulder.

 

Jughead just shrugged, inhaling the last puff of his cigarette and throwing it on the ground. “He wanted to buy our time.” Archie laughed, jumping to sit on top of the railing. Joaquin just smirked, coming to sit on the railing beside Archie. “Hey, so are you gonna ask _Kevin_ to the prom?” Archie nudged his elbow into Joaquin’s side, wiggling his eyebrows.

 

Joaquin flushes, looking away with a small smile. “I haven’t thought about it. What about you?” He jutted his chin to Archie.

 

Archie just shrugged, “I don’t know man. Prom’s always so boring. No alcohol.” He pulled out a cigarette, lighting it quickly before sighing.

 

“I bet.. you’ll ask out Veronica Lodge within the week.” Jughead said, laughing. Archie chuckled, tossing the cigarette butt on the ground. “Less than a week actually!”

 

“Is there funding for this bet? Cause if so, I’ll fucking do it.” Archie stated, puffing out his chest with a grin. Jughead just laughed.

 

“$50 says you won’t do it!” Joaquin piped up, raising his hands in the air.

 

“$75 says he does within 4 days.” Jughead retorted, throwing his hand in the air.

 

Archie hollered, laughing. “Fucking deal! But on one condition. The bet goes 3 ways.”

 

Jughead arched a brow, “Explain.”

 

“I ask Veronica Lodge.” Archie jabbed a finger into his chest. “Joaquin asks Kevin.” He jabs his thumb to Joaquin’s chest, Joaquin flushing but nodded. “And you have to ask someone.” He points at Jughead last.

 

Jughead nods, “Alright, but who?”

 

Archie and Joaquin spare a glance, huge grins plastered on their faces.

 

“Who?” Jughead asks again, exasperated.

 

“Betty Cooper!” The two boys shout in unison.

 

Jughead blanks. “Who?” Archie just laughs.

 

“You know, preppy Betty Cooper. Teachers pet, 4.0gpa. Blonde?” Joaquin intrigues. Jughead just shakes his head, still oblivious.

 

“The chick you knew when we were kids dude.” Archie finally says.

 

Recognition sparks in Jugheads face. “No.” Joaquin frowns, glancing at Archie with a raised brow. “There isn’t a humane person on this planet who would ask Betty freaking Cooper to prom.” Jughead states coolly, lighting another cigarette.

 

Joaquin opens his mouth, but Archie cuts him off. “Sure there is man.” Jughead quirks an eyebrow, waiting. “You.” He claps Jughead on the shoulder.

 

Jughead shakes his head again. “No. I’m not going to do it.” He heads in a random direction, away from his friends.

 

Archie jogs to catch up. “$100 says you will do it.”

 

Jughead stops. Without turning around, he yells back. “$100 even if she says no?”

 

Archie shakes his head. “$100 and a new guitar if she says yes. But only if!”

 

Jughead turns around, arms crossed. “I get the guitar whether she says yes or no.” Joaquin chuckles, watching. Archie just sighs.

 

“Fine, but you have to ask her before I ask Veronica, or the bets off and you get nothing.” Archie stuck his hand out, waiting. Jughead pondered, tapping his foot, before a smile crossed his face.

 

“Deal!” He shook Archie’s outstretched hand. The bell rang, signaling the start of the school day. Reluctantly, Jughead, Archie and Joaquin strode off, not too quick though, can’t be a prude and show up on time.

 

The morning went by quickly, Jughead only half paying attention to his teachers talking. School work was overrated, and the teachers learned quick not to bother him about doing any of it. It was a wonder he even showed up most days.

 

The bell for lunch rang as Jughead stood, heading for the door. Passing by the teachers desk, he overheard the end of a conversation.

 

“-but sir, please. I need an A to keep my 4.0!” A head of blonde hair, pulled neatly into a very tight ponytail high on her head was turned away from him. The teacher was looking up at the girl, some weird emotion in his eyes.

 

“Ms. Cooper,” Jughead spared a quick glance over his shoulder before abandoning the room altogether. Halting in his tracks, he leans against the wall, attempting to look nonchalant. A few moments pass before the bouncy ponytail appears from the room. She has her back to him as she heads down the hall, shoulders slumped slightly. He pushes off the wall, casually walking up beside her. She glances sideways, a polite smile on her lips, but recognition sparks in her eyes, and she shies away instantly.

 

“Uh, hi?” Betty Cooper says, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear timidly.

 

Jughead smirked, “Hey beauty.” Winking, he moves a little closer, throwing his arm over her shoulder. She quickly retreats from his grasp, putting a healthy distance away.

 

“Betty.” She says firmly, keeping her eyes forward.

 

Frowning for a second, Jughead smirks again. “Ok, _Betty_. I have a question for you.” He reached for her arm, turning her to face him and stopping their walk. She just stares. He clears his throat. “You.” He points to her. “Me.” He juts his thumb at his chest. “Prom?” A smug smirk plays on his lips.

 

Betty just stares. Then shakes her head. A group is forming around them now, no doubt curious who Jughead is harassing now. “No.” Was all she said, before turning on her heel and retreating down the hall, past onlookers and whisperers.

 

Jughead smiles sheepishly, shrugging it off and heading in the other direction. Striding down the hall, Archie and Joaquin falling in step behind him, Jughead made his way to the cafeteria.

 

“Hey Archie! Jughead!” A small voice called from beside them as they walked. Jughead stopped in his tracks, Archie bumping into his shoulder abruptly.

 

“What the hell man.” Archie spat out, shoving Jughead. Jughead just grunted, looking sideways at the voice.

 

The young boy from that morning stood a few feet away. He was standing in front of a group of guys, one had his hand bunched on the boys collar, pulling him forward. The hand belonged to Chuck Clayton, quarterback for their shitty football team and resident rapist (or so most of the female student body claims). Jughead turns, eyeing the males in front of him.

 

“Problem?” Jughead quirked a brow, crossing his arms.

 

Chuck turned to him – releasing the boys shirt -, Reggie Mantle and Jason Blossom not far behind. They all sneered, puffing out their chests. Jughead chuckled.

 

“Did I call for the leather losers?” Chuck says, shooting a glance over his shoulder for a reaction from his friends. When they laugh, he turns back to Jughead, Archie and Joaquin, smirking.

 

Archie takes a step forward, grunting. “Watch it knuckle head, or you’ll be getting a face full of my knuckles.”

 

Jughead places a hand on Archie’s shoulder, pulling him back. “I didn’t think you were into guys now Chuck.” Reggie takes a step forward, but Chuck pulls his hand up, halting him. “Is it because the entire population of girls in Riverdale would rather fuck a chainsaw over you?”

 

Chuck growled, eyes dangerously dark. “Watch it Serpent.” He spit out, crossing his arms.

 

“I’m shaking. Really.” Jughead stated blandly, sighing with boredom. His eyes scanned the crowd once again forming around him. The publicity was toxic, he needed out.

 

Then his eyes caught ones watching him.

 

Blue on green.

 

Betty was standing close to the back of the crowd, hardly visible over the heads of people Jughead didn’t care to learn the names of. A lump formed in his throat.

 

_Why are you getting worked up? She’s just some stupid girl._

 

Groaning, Jughead steps forward, grasping Chuck’s shirt at the collar. “Listen, _pal_. This here boy-” he points to the young boy, still reeling from the abuse, who is standing behind Joaquin now. “-he’s a Serpent now. So you touch him, and you deal with us all.” Jughead’s eyes burn wild, tightening his grip on Chucks shirt. Chuck inhales deeply, swallowing hard.

 

“Lets go guys.” Chuck states, pulling free of Jugheads grasp as he growls once more before trotting down the hall, Reggie and Jason in tow.

 

Jughead sighs, turning back to Archie and Joaquin. Eyeing the crowd, Jughead just shouts “LEAVE!” as the crowd disperses quickly. He catches the telltale ponytail of Betty, bouncing away with the crowd. He idly thought if she saw that whole ordeal.

 

_Why do you CARE?_ He chalks it up as the want for a new guitar, and some cash from winning the bet.

 

“Dude,” Archie’s voice pulls Jughead back to reality. “What the fuck?”

 

Jughead just shrugs, heading back in the direction of the cafeteria.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those who liked the first chapter! It warms my heart. I hope you enjoy! This one is kinda short. I got a bit of writers block fought hard to get over it, so bear with me please. I LOVE YOU ALL

“Seriously Jughead.” Archie asks again. “What the hell was that?” When Jughead shrugs, Archie just lets out an exaggerated sigh, dropping his hands to his side. “Dude c’mon! You just told the _entire_ school that some random ass kid was with us now!”

 

This was the millionth time Archie brought up what Jughead had so casually mentioned in the hall yesterday. After the whole ordeal happened, and Archie got the brunt of his anger out on a wall, they sat down and ate something with their newly acquired prodigy. They later found out his name was Trev, and he just transferred to Riverdale from Pembrooke.

 

“I kinda like Trev, he’s pretty cool.” Joaquin piped up, throwing a card on the table between them.

 

“You like anyone with a dick and smiles at you.” Archie retorts, tossing one of his own cards on the table. Joaquin just pouts, leaning back.

 

“I don’t mind Trev.” Jughead finally says, placing a card from his hand on the table. “He’s kinda funny.”

 

Archie just sighs, dropping his hand of cards on the table. “Guys! It doesn’t matter if Trev is _cool_ or not!”

 

“Then why are you so worked up Arch?” Joaquin asks, gathering up the cards. “It’s one guy.”

 

Archie groans again, standing. “It’s the message man! We let one random kid in and then everyone assumes we’re an open-for-friends group.” He was pacing now.

 

“Hey, have you asked Veronica Lodge to prom yet?” Jughead asks. Archie halts in his tracks, turning to face him. Archie shook his head, face slightly red.

 

“I haven’t gotten around to it yet.” He replied sheepishly.

 

“Why haven’t you done it? Scared of rejection?” Jughead poked fun.

 

“I just haven’t done it yet, calm down.” Archie exclaimed, shaking his head. He turns to Joaquin. “Have you asked Kevin yet?” He wiggled his eyebrows at Joaquin’s flush.

 

“Not yet. He wasn’t at school yesterday...” Joaquin stated, quickly turning to look at Jughead. “You probably didn’t even try to ask Betty Cooper yet, huh?”

 

Jughead snorted, nodding. “For your nosy information – I did.” Archie choked on his drink. They both stared at Jughead, waiting. He sighs, “She said no.”

 

Archie just frowns. “You’re gonna ask again, right?” Joaquin quirked an eyebrow. Jughead just shrugged, lighting a cigarette.

 

“Eh, maybe not. She seems as stuck up as before.” He says taking a long drag of his smoke, the smell of tobacco and burning paper filter into the air around him.

 

“Oh yeah, about that.” Joaquin pipes up, crossing his arms. “What’s up with the past man? Archie mentioned yesterday that you knew Betty from before?”

 

It was a harmless question, but Jughead’s stature turned timid. He just shook his head. “Its a long story. All you need to know is me, her and Archie used to be friends, but her moms a psycho.” He takes another drag of his smoke before continuing. “She doesn’t even remember me I bet. Seemed like that yesterday anyway.”

 

Joaquin opened his mouth to say something, but Jughead cut him off. “It was a long time ago, just leave it alone.”

 

Archie stood, starting to pace. “You’re asking her again.” Jughead quirks an eyebrow, but stays silent. “I’ll up the bet. $150 if you can _make_ her say yes.” Joaquin smirked, watching Jughead.

 

“Why is this so important man? I asked her already, she said no. Leave it at that.” Jughead stated, tossing the cigarette butt down and rubbing his hands over his face. “Plus it’s stuck up, nerdy Betty Cooper. She doesn’t have any friends, hell I don’t even know if people like her!” He was exhausted of this idea, hoping Archie would just drop it.

 

“Which is why this will be even better! Think of how funny it would be man.” Archie clapped him on the shoulder, smiling. “Butter her up, make her feel good, take her to the prom, then _bam!_ We humiliate her!” Archie was cackling now, sorta like a wicked witch cackle. It was unnerving.

 

Jughead just shrugged again, mouth in a straight line.

 

“I don’t know man. That seems a bit, harsh.” Joaquin added, eyes weary. He was watching Archie and Jughead intently.

 

“It’ll be fine. Just a harmless prank.” Archie threw his arm over Jughead’s shoulder. “Right dude?” Jughead just sighed, nodding. A smile spread across Archie’s face as Jughead agreed. “Fucking rights dude!”

 

“Sure man, whatever.”

 

With the details sorted out soon after, the trio set off for school. Archie had planned a very elaborate scheme to ask Veronica out with, which included singing(for reasons he didn’t know) and/or dancing. Joaquin was supposed to ask Kevin as well, _convince_ him if he says no. Annnnd Jughead was supposed to ask Betty Cooper, _again._

 

“How about, instead of asking her to prom and getting rejected – again – you ask her out on a normal date?” Joaquin offers as they head through the doors of the school. “You know, build the relationship up before the ‘big day’ sorta thing?”

 

Jughead glances at him sideways, curiosity spiking. “What do you mean?”

 

Joaquin flushes. “I had to do something similar with Kevin – you sorta throw yourself into stuff they do normally, get them to notice you, and build off that.”

 

Jughead just stares. “How the hell am I going to accomplish that?” Joaquin looked sheepish, shrugging. “I’m not joining the stupid student council!”

 

“You’re joining the student council?” Archie’s voice came from behind Jughead, appearing beside them soon after. “That’s pretty fucking nerdy, not gonna lie.”

 

“No! I’m not joining that stupid thing. Ever!” Jughead states, slumping his shoulders. “Whatever. I’m going to class.”

 

Joaquin pipes up as Jughead strolls down the hall. “Remember what I said!”

 

Jughead just nodded, not looking back. He made it his class in record time, shoulder bumping a random as he went. People knew to leave him alone. It was common knowledge. The last guy who didn’t know that found out real quick, ending up with a sprained wrist and broken nose. But that was in the past. As he entered his class, a familiar blonde ponytail stood in front of him, at the teachers desk – again. He strode up beside her, leaning a hand on the desk casually.

 

Betty glanced at Jughead sideways, before turning back to the teacher. “I don’t need a partner Mr. Fontaine! I can do this project on my own.” She leaned forward, placing her hands on the desk. “You know I can.”

 

Mr. Fontaine just grimaced, clearly he hated arguing with her. “Like I’ve been saying, Ms. Cooper. I already assigned partners for the project – oh hey, Mr. Jones, glad you could show up.” Jughead quirked an eyebrow, mouth staying closed. Mr. Fontaine clears his throat. “Uh, right. Ms. Cooper, meet your partner, Mr. Jones.” Betty’s head snaps sideways, shock evident on her features. “Betty, Jughead. Jughead, Betty. Now shoo.” He waved them off.

 

Betty scoffed. “Unbelievable.” She crosses her arms, turning to Jughead. “Look. I’m only gonna say this once. Don’t get in my way, and let me do all the work.” When Jughead just smirks, Betty groans. “I’m used to failing students backpacking off my good grades and hard work. So I’ll do everything, and you can just pencil your name in the corner like everyone else. Got it?” She looks at him pointedly.

 

“Are you done?” When she nods, he crosses his arms over his chest, mirroring her. “We’re gonna work on this project together, so deal with me.” Her hands clench into tight fists, knuckles turning white. “What time should I pick you up tonight?” He winked at her, a smug smirk on his lips. Betty let out an exasperated sigh, storming off.

 

“6 and don’t be late.” He heard her yell back as she took her seat. He chuckled, sitting down himself.

 

Time past quickly, and before he knew it, 5:30pm rolled by and he was driving to the Cooper residence. A north side quaint townhouse, not very spectacular, but what about Betty really was? Arriving at the house, Jughead pulled his cell out, sending a quick text to Betty – she reluctantly gave him her number after he made the assumption her mother would be ok with male company. A few minutes pass before she steps out the front door, dressed slightly different from this morning at school.

 

Now she was wearing a simple pastel skirt, a seemingly perfectly pressed blouse and tiny nude heels. She looked so incredibly boring. Sighing, Jughead quickly honked the horn of his dads old truck, pulling her attention to him. She caught his eye, and her shoulders slump slightly. She head in his direction, opening the passenger door hastily, and hoping in beside him.

 

Betty fastens the seat belt, sighing slightly. She looks over at Jughead, who by all definition, is staring at her.

 

“What?” She spat out.

 

Jughead blinked, frowning. “Where do you wanna go?” He pointed out the windshield.

 

Betty blinks, surprised. “Oh. Uh, Pops I guess.” She shifts her gaze ahead of her, waiting. When Jughead doesn’t start the engine, she looks over at him skeptically. “You do know Pops right?” She quirked a brow.

 

“Oh I know. I was just watching you bite your lip.” He leaned close, face inches from the side of hers. “It’s a pretty sexy trait, _Betty.”_

 

Her face flushes, looking away, she quickly crosses her arms and frowns. “Just start the truck, _Jughead_.”

 

His lip curves up at the side, glancing at her sideways. “As you wish, M’lady.” He bows his head slightly, laughing when her blush deepens.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voila! New chapter is here! Sorry its a bit late, I was super busy all weekend. Hope you enjoy though!!!

Jughead strode through the front doors of Riverdale High, a smile on his face and a bounce in his step. Last night had – against all odds – been really fun. Who knew you could have fun with something as simple and mundane as _homework_? He sure didn’t, but boy was he wrong.

 

A hand was placed on his shoulder, turning his attention to Archie. “Hey man, what girl did you bang lastnight?” Jughead quirked an eyebrow, smile still displayed proudly on his lips. “I just ask cause I haven’t seen you smile this much since you lost your virginity to that Serenity chick in 8th grade.”

 

Jughead just chuckled. “Her name was Sabrina, thank you.” Archie just shrugged, falling in step beside him. “And I’m just in a good mood. Had a good night.”

 

Archie quirked a brow, but stayed silent.

 

“Hey guys, whats up?” Joaquin chimed in, coming to walk on the other side of Jughead. He just grunted in response, while Archie went into full details about his night. Jughead only half payed attention, far too preoccupied with reminiscing.

 

* * *

 

 

_Not much was said during the drive to Pops – a few more snide comments at the hands of Jughead, but all fun and games. Betty still seemed to have a snobby stick shoved up her butt, but at least her blushing was making her tolerable._

 

_Hell, maybe even cute._

 

_But don’t tell her that._

 

_They arrived at the diner, finding a quiet-ish booth in the back. A waitress came by quickly, jotting down their orders of milkshakes and fries, before scurrying off. They sat adjacent from one another, an awkward silence falling upon them._

 

_Jughead cleared his throat, opening his mouth but Betty cuts him off hastily._

 

“ _Look. I don’t know what your plan for tonight was, but I’m here to do my work.” She quirked an eyebrow, daring him to contest her. When he stayed silent, she nodded slightly. “Good, now don’t talk to me.”_

 

_Jughead laughed, watching her._

 

_Betty pulled her stuff out, placing a notebook gently on the table in front of her, along with a few pencils and pens. Placing her phone face down, she opens her book and begins writing seemingly random stuff down. Her pencil moves across the page with ease, each letter she writes is so precise, every bit of her writing is, well perfect. She’s humming a simple tune, he can’t quite figure out what song it is, but its catchy._

 

_He’s brought out of his reverie by the waitress. She places the milkshakes on the table, and the fries beside them. She lingers a little, making small talk with Jughead._

 

“ _Hey Jughead, you didn’t call me after our time together.” She winked. Jughead internally shuddered._

 

“ _Uh, hey-” he cut off, squinting at her name tag, realizing she didn’t actually have one on. “-hi. Yeah, sorry about that. Kinda.” He shrugged, a smug smirk on his lips. Betty scoffed from across the table, not looking up from her school work._

 

“ _It was fun. We should do it again sometime.” She winked, pursing her lips to blow an air kiss._

 

_This time Jughead does shudder. The waitress frowns, opening her mouth. Jughead cuts her off. “Sure. I’ll get your name and number when I leave.” He turned back to Betty. The waitress huffs, storming off with the soft clicking of her heels._

 

_Betty looks up at him, something dark playing in her green eyes. “You’re disgusting.” Is all she says, looking back down._

 

_An hour passed and she still didn’t look up. His leg was bouncing sporadically, impatience riding his every nerve. With Betty doing all the work, all he could do was pick at his half eaten basket of fries – it’s the second one he got – and watch her. He could tell she was uncomfortable with his staring, but with nothing else to do, and her shutting down every bit of conversation he tried to start, what else was he supposed to do?_

 

_She finally looks up, sighing. He shifts a little in seat, waiting expectantly. She quirked a brow, watching him._

 

“ _How is it going?” He finally asks, he himself getting uncomfortable with the silence._

 

_She just blinks._

 

_Sighing, Jughead leans forward, smirking. “How about we have a little bet?” She crosses her arms over her chest. He takes it as a sign to continue. “If I can make you laugh, you have to go out with me. Just once.” Surprise crosses her face, her arms dropping to her sides. “Not prom. Just a date. Like what we’re doing right now, just without the homework.” He jutted his chin at her open notebook._

 

_Finally Betty opens her mouth to talk, but closes it quickly. “On one condition.” He just nods, waiting. “It has to be a genuine laugh, and the date has to be of my choosing. Where we go, what we do-” He winked at her, she scoffs in disgust at his gesture, “- no not that. EW.”_

 

_Jughead nods, laughing. “I agree to your terms, M’lady.” He winks, she scoffs. “How about we play 21 questions?” He intrigued, crossing his arms defiantly._

 

“ _Fine. You can go first.” She waves her hand, looking down at her work._

 

_He thinks for a few moments, before opening his mouth. “We’ll start easy – whats your passion?”_

 

_Betty’s taken aback for a second, before leaning back in the booth and sighing. “Writing.” Jughead doesn’t feign the shock that crosses his face. Betty rolls her eyes at his reaction. “I want to be a journalist, you egghead.”_

 

 _He quirked a brow at her choice of words. “Aren’t journalists supposed to have_ sophisticated _vocabularies?”_

 

“ _Oh shut up. It’s my turn.” He just smirks, waiting. “Uh, why are you a Serpent?”_

 

_His body goes timid at the question, hands clenching into fists under the table. He swallows hard, suddenly boiling in his leather, flannel, undershirt layers. “It’s uh – a uh family business.” He musters out, mouth dry. He doesn’t look up at her, just watches his hands wring together in his lap._

 

_Her mouth shapes into an ‘o’ as realization dawns on her. “Sorry.”_

 

_He waves her off. “It’s fine. Most people say I joined it after I punched someone, I think.” He shrugs._

 

“ _Actually, it’s because you killed a man once.” She says matter of factly. His lips curve upward in a smug smirk as her face tinges with red, embarrassment kicking in. “Not that I know the rumors, or anything like that!” She’s waving her hands in front of her, almost slapping him across the face more than once._

 

 _He’s laughing now, watching her flustered state. “Had I known any better,_ Betty Cooper _, I’d say you’ve been keeping tabs on me.” He winked at her once more, chuckling at her deepening blush._

 

“ _It’s your turn.”_

 

_He sighs happily, leaning back against the booth. “Why did you reject my request to take you to prom?” It was a genuine question, though he would never indulge the information to Archie or Joaquin._

 

_She blanks, looking down. “Because there has to be something – anything – that gives you-” she points a finger at his chest “-a reason to ask me-” points her fingers at her own chest “-to that antiquated mating ritual.”_

 

“ _Antler what?”_

 

_She groans impatiently, rolling her eyes. “Nevermind!” She crosses her arms over her chest defiantly, looking away with a huff._

 

_He just stares at her. Finally piping up, he says “Why does there have to be a reason other than me wanting to go with you?”_

 

“ _Because you’re a_ Serpent _!” She tosses her hands up disbelief. “You haven’t said a word to be in over 9 years Jughead. Why would you suddenly want to be my date for the stupid prom?”_

 

_He blanks. “I figured you didn’t remember that part..” He trails off, looking away._

 

_She just sighs, looking down. “I’m sorry, it’s just-” she points to him “-I just don’t see a reason to say yes.”_

 

_He plays with his fingers for a few more seconds before an idea courses through his veins. Looking up abruptly, he just smiles. “But that isn’t a no.” He states coolly, a smug smirk tugging the corners of his lips up._

 

_She rolls her eyes again, a ghost of a smile on her luscious lips. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” is all she replies, leaning her cheek on her hand, playing with her pencil idly. “My turn?” She asks, not looking up when he nods. “What’s your favourite colour?”_

 

_He deadpans. “How positively monotonous of you Ms Cooper.” She looks up his words, the smile on her lips gaining more mirth. She opens her mouth to retort when he cuts her off. “Green.” She nods slightly, looking away to cover the quickly reddening skin on her cheeks. He’s smiling like a madman now, all charisma and comfort. “My turn.” It isn’t a question, but Betty nods. “Do you like dogs?”_

 

_Betty all but makes noise, her face contorting into such a wide array of astonishment, mild disbelief, and is that offense? Is she offended by a simple question? She opens her mouth, then closes it. Repeating this a few times before running a hand over her face and groaning loudly. “Of fucking course I love dogs! Who doesn’t?” It doesn’t sound like a question, at least one that isn’t rhetorical, but he just shrugs, still smiling at her reaction. “Why?”_

 

“ _I have a dog, I was just wondering if you’d like him or not.” He plays it off, watching her under his lashes as he looks down at his fingers._

 

_Her hands slap the table aggressively, startling him. “I have to meet him.”_

 

_Jughead smiles wide, winking at her. “I see how it is, you don’t want me just my dog.” He feigns hurt, placing a hand over his heart._

 

 _Betty smiles wide, watching his acting. “Girls got needs Jug, and I_ need _to love every dog on this planet.” She’s sitting up straighter, a proud smile on her face._

 

_He just tugs at his shirt more, falsely weeping unshed tears. “My heart. It’s broken. You’ve done me in Coop, I’m dead now.” He’s squirming in the booth, thrashing his limbs back in forth in an odd display of a tantrum._

 

_Then he’s listening to one of the purest sounds in the world. Halting his movements, he moves a finger from his eye just enough to peek through and see a wonder in the booth across from him._

 

_She’s laughing._

 

_Not like, a chuckle, or those cheap giggles some girls find cute to do, but an actual laugh. Her small shoulders are bouncing up and down, her hand covering her mouth to stifle the noise coming from within, all the while her eyes are closed tight, tears pooling at the corners._

 

_He sits up proudly, waiting patiently for her laughing fit to subside. After a few minutes, Betty pulls her hand away from her mouth, rubbing the pools around her eyes quickly. Her face is still bright red, her eyes a twinkle of something new. He’s watching her, silent as a mouse._

 

_When she’s done rearranging herself, she looks up at him, confusion on her face. “What?”_

 

_He smiles wide. “I win.”_

 

_She opens her mouth to no doubt ask what he means when it dawns on her. “Oh shit.”_

 

_He laughs at her words, leaning forward. “Now I get to take you on a real date Betty Cooper.” She just bites her lip, nodding behind the flush on her face._

 

_They spent another 2 hours at Pops after that, chatting about anything and everything. Turns out, Betty isn’t a complete and total man hater as people thought. She also really likes animals – mostly dogs of course. It was around 10pm when Jughead pulled up in front of her house, turning the key to cut the ignition and shift to look at her._

 

“ _I’ll see you tomorrow.” He winks._

 

_Groaning, Betty just waves and gets out, bustling up the stairs quickly before retreating behind the door._

 

_Jughead didn’t really know why, but that night he dreamt of gold and green, smiling the entire time._

 

* * *

 

 

“YO JUGHEAD!” Archie’s voice brought him back to reality, a pale hand waving furiously in front of his eyes. Shaking his head, Jughead just sighs.

 

“What?”

 

“What do you mean _‘what’_?” A flash of hurt crossed Archie’s freckled face before quickly diminishing. “I asked if you got any leads with the Cooper girl.”

 

Jughead just shrugged. “I’m working on it.” Archie smirks, winking at him before throwing his arm over Joaquin’s shoulder.

 

“He totally banged Betty.”

 

Jughead just groaned. “Sure Arch, whatever you think man.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY! It took so long to write this. Mostly, I might add, because I've been sick and hospitalized for the past few days. I just got access to my computer yesterday! Please don't hate me! I promise to update the next chapter sooner. I love you all though! Hope you enjoy!

“Guess who’s taking the hottest cheerleader to the prom?”

 

Archie’s voice filled the silence, bouncing off the brick walls that made up the outside of Riverdale high. Jughead had been lost in thought, undeniably his mind kept falling back onto a certain pair of green eyes so bright, honey blonde hair so golden is was like the sun. But he try as he may, he just couldn’t keep Betty out of his head.

 

Two days have passed since their homework date – two full days of walking by one another in the hall, Betty seemingly too uncomfortable to say anything to him. Not that Jughead minded. Anything more than a simple glance in her direction sends Archie and Joaquin into flurries about whether or not he asked her to prom again, why was he looking at her, did he really like her. Too many questions, too few confident excuses to retort.

 

So the radio silence was a blissful escape.

 

For the most part. The slightly lesser part that actually enjoyed himself on the homework date, actually laughed and joked with a girl most would claim to be prude. He had fun with Betty, and he wanted to keep having fun with her. This small part of him, no matter how much he resented and tried to ignore, was gaining velocity at each passing day. Soon his mind would explode, and all hell would break lose.

 

But was that really a bad thing?

 

“JUG!”

 

He was brought back to reality at the sound of his name. Looking over, he noticed Joaquin and Archie staring at him, slightly aggravated expressions adorning their already brooding features. He just shrugged, waiting for them to repeat whatever they said. After a few moments of tense silence, he cleared his throat. “What?”

 

Archie just sighed. “What has been up with you lately.”

 

Jughead feigned disinterest, eyeing the red head closely. “What do you mean?”

 

“I mean,” Archie walked forward, placing a hand on Jughead’s shoulder, “that you’re a legit space cadet now. I don’t mean like how you are when we get high, I mean like, off in your own world spaced out kinda thing.” Joaquin was nodding along, eyes wearily watching him.

 

“I’m-”

 

“Just thinking.” They all said in unison.

 

“We know” Archie states, turning away.

 

Sighing, Jughead runs a hand down his face. “What are the details this bet entrails?” Archie halted, eyeing him over his shoulder. “Like, what exactly do I have to do?”

 

Joaquin smiles. “You gotta get Betty Cooper to say yes to the prom dude.” He stated it so blatantly, like it was the simplest thing in the world, but anything coming into contact with Betty was far from simple.

 

“Other than that.” When the two boys in front of him just stared, Jughead groaned. “Do I have to actually _go_ to the dumbass prom with stuck up Betty Cooper?” A metallic taste lingered on his tongue at the name, not hers, but the one he called her. Swallowing the distaste, Jughead rubbed the back of his neck, waiting.

 

“I mean, obviously not!” Archie was laughing, for reasons Jughead didn’t know or really care about. “That’s the whole point of this bet dude.” Archie looked between Jughead and Joaquin, sighing when both their faces went blank. “We get the girls – and guy – all hot and bothered, butter them up for the big day, and then BAM!” Archie’s hands shot up into the air, imitating a – was that supposed to be an explosion?

 

“Bam?” Jughead quirked a brow, confusion riddled his dark blue eyes.

 

Archie’s smile dropped a bit, but he still kept his hands in the air. “Yeah, _BAM_. We make ‘em arrive before us, so they can wait in their pretty dresses – or tux – and wait and wait and wait. Cause we ain’t gonna show up!”

 

Joaquin’s face went white, brown eyes blown out like saucers. “You want me to ditch date with you?” He sounded so appalled, Jughead caught his laughter before it rang out, only forming a sort of choking snort to escape. “Why would I do that to Kev? Unlike you-” Joaquin pointed at Archie’s still animated body “-I actually care about the person I’m asking.”

 

Archie scoffed, puffing out his chest as his face reddened. “Jug! You’re with me on this, right?” His eyes turned to Jughead’s, then Joaquin’s eyes were on him too.

 

He just shrugged, sighing. “You know I’m always with you Arch, so calm your shit.”

 

“Hell yeah man!” Archie’s hand came down, clapping Jughead on the shoulder.

 

“Jughead c’mon!” Joaquin’s whiny voice broke over Archie’s, but Jughead just chuckled.

 

“But this becomes a 2 way bet now – leave Joaquin and his _boyfriend_ out of it.” He crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for Archie to fight him on it.

 

After a few moments, Archie just shrugged a shoulder. “Sure, I don’t care.”

 

“Good cause I wasn’t going through with it anyway!” Joaquin exclaimed. His hands were flying up and around like a crazy person.

 

“You totally would have!” Archie retorts, poking Joaquin’s chest.

 

“Jug! Help me out here man.” Joaquin turns to Jughead, eyes pleading.

 

Jughead just shrugged, pushing off the wall and walking towards the school. “I’m not getting involved in your lovers quarrel.”

 

The morning went by quickly, classes blurred together meaninglessly. Jughead was on his way to the cafeteria hastily, his favorite special being served for lunch today. As he strolled down the hall, a familiar head of red hair crept up beside him. He was unaware of his presence, mind far too occupied with the array of condiments one could add to a burger.

 

“Dude! Ketchup, mustard, mayo, cheese and-”

 

“-PICKLES!”

 

The two boys shouted in unison. Jughead glanced at Archie, smirking. “Sup man.” Archie just shrugged, sparing him the details of his boring music class. Though the teacher was kinda hot, she screamed Ms. Robinson from a mile away, and Jughead wanted _nothing_ to do with that drama bomb.

 

“Grundy touched my bicep man!” Archie cooed, a smug smirk tugging on his lips. “She totally digs me.” Archie winked, eliciting a strangled cough to escape Jughead’s throat.

 

“That is disgusting – and probably illegal.” Archie shrugged, the smile still playing on his lips. Jughead shuddered, looking away from his friend.

 

Then halted in his tracks.

 

He spotted her down the hall, a head of black hair and aura of bitchy just radiating from her. Sabrina stood amongst a crowd, strangers ogling the return of a Riverdale OG to their midst. Her long black hair was loose, falling over her shoulders in waves of ebony glory. Her body was turned away from the duo, but her face was turned enough for Jughead to make out her similar features, unchanged from the 2 years she’s been MIA.

 

Jughead could vaguely feel Archie’s hand on his shoulder, his voice in his ear, but it was as if the sound was pushing through water.

 

“Dude!” Archie shook Jughead’s shoulder roughly, finally pulling him from his trace. He blinked a few times, turning to look at his friend with confusion. “Is that Stacy?” Jughead deadpanned, far too preoccupied with discomfort to correct his friends unbelievably small pool of names stored in his memories. “The crazy ex you told us about? That’s her!” Archie was almost yelling, a few students looked over at them as Jughead failed shushing his friend.

 

“I’ll be going this way.” Jughead jutted his thumb over his shoulder, turning on his heel and steadily walking in the opposite direction of his aforementioned “crazy ex girlfriend” With no destination in mind, he just wandered the halls until a set of double doors looked promising. Pushing through, he erupted into the foyer of the school library, utterly empty and silent as the dead. Sighing, he made his way through the large room, passing shelves upon shelves of school authorized books. He’d spent a lot of time in the library when he was younger, finding solace in the silence and reprieve in the pages of each book he read.

 

But that was before the Serpents.

 

Before Sabrina.

 

Jughead sighed once more, unrelenting thoughts of his past coursing through his mind. Stopping, he leans back against a bookshelf, far away from the main doors of the library, and hangs his head down.

 

“Rough day being a bad boy?”

 

Startled, Jughead pushed off the wall, eyes shooting open in search of the voice. They landed on that of Betty’s green orbs, so intently watching him it felt like she could burn holes through his head. Running a hand over his face, Jughead just shook his head, leaning back against the shelf once more.

 

“I guess you could say that.”

 

Her nose scrunched up, but she didn’t pry. A few moments of silence passed before she opened her mouth again. “I didn’t think you knew where the library was to be honest.” She pushed a stray hair behind her ear, avoiding eye contact. “I came here to avoid you.”

 

He just shrugged. “Well my bad.”

 

“It’s fine.” A moment passed before she added, “I don’t mind.”

 

Jughead quirked a brow, but remained silent. He pushed off the shelf, balancing on the balls of his feet idly. Betty was still avoiding his eyes, but a smile was playing on her soft pink lips as she toyed with the loose strand of hair. His fingers itched to reach out and touch it, but he refrained, instead clenching his fingers into a fist.

 

A few more minutes passed, silence and tension filling the void between them. Finally Jughead shook his head, opening his mouth. “So you’re avoiding me huh?” He smirked when Betty’s cheeks tinged red, eyes frantic.

 

She was waving her hands in front of her like a crazy person. “No no! It’s not like that I just-”

 

She was cut off by the sharp voice of the librarian, insisting there were others in the vicinity studying and they should lower their voices. Though he hadn’t seen another soul in the area since he walked in here, so he figured it was just her rules.

 

Betty’s face was so red, even her ears were burning bright. Jughead just smiled at her, reaching a hand out, he lightly grabbed the loose hairs and pushed them behind her ear. Her mouth slammed shut, her eyes looking down as she quietly gave thanks.

 

“So about that date you promised me..” He winked at her when she looked up, her green eyes wide.

 

“You remember that?” She stammered out, backing up till her back hit the shelf adjacent to the one Jughead was leaning against.

 

He nodded, lips curving up at her flustered features. “I worked hard for that date Ms. Cooper. I expect to get my reward.”

 

Betty crosses her arms, staring at the floor. She whispers something under her breath, far too quiet for Jughead to comprehend. He smiles, reaching a finger to poke her shoulder slightly.

 

“What was that Betts? I couldn’t hear you.” He was teasing her now, but she was making it easy.

 

Betty’s face was about 50 shades of red, the blush creeping down her neck as well. So easy to see on her pale complexion. Jughead was smiling wide now, watching her with bright blue eyes.

 

“I’m free tomorrow night.”

 

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that.” He took a step closer, his chest mere inches from hers. He places his hand slightly above her head, leaning his face down to be level with her flushed face. Her lower lip was between her teeth, a small frown accompanying it.

 

“Tomorrow night!” She finally squeaked out, eyes shut tight.

 

Jughead smirked, fingers moving to sit just under her chin, tilting her face up slightly. He leaned down a little more, mere centimeters from Betty’s lips. Their breath mingled idly, the tension between them so thick you could taste it. Betty exhaled, the action pushing her lips even closer to his.

 

Then he was gone.

 

Betty groaned quietly, but it sounded more like a breathy whimper. When she opened her eyes, Jughead was calmly leaning against the opposite bookshelf once more, a small smile on his lips, his body nonchalant in every way. Whereas hers was high strung and timid, Betty shook her hands slightly, failing to release the bundle of nerves so tight knit inside her.

 

A few minutes passed, Jughead watching Betty intently as she sorted through her emotions and filled each under lock and key, becoming distant before his eyes. His smile had fallen, but not before her blush finally subsided, after countless deep breathes and minuscule eye contact. Jughead sighed, pushing off the shelf at last.

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

 

A wide grin crossed his face as Betty called out after him. “It’s a date!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I've been taking a few extra days to write these chapters, and I apologize profoundly. Things are just really hard right now, I feel so unmotivated to keep writing, I wanna abandon my stories. It's just a bit much sometimes. But here is a new chapter, one I hope you enjoy!

Prom was less than 3 weeks away and Jughead still hadn’t found the time to ask Betty to go with him.

 

Not that he wanted to go.

 

Or that she was even talking to him.

 

But the bet was still on, and a new guitar was on the line.

 

But there was something else. Something different. It was a feeling in his gut, a telltale sign of attraction. He liked Betty. The time he spends with her is so few and far between that he’s begun to really cherish the sparse moments when they talk, the glances in the hall, the smiles reserved for her piercing green eyes were becoming a habit. It was impossible not to smile around her.

 

Betty was smart – like really smart. She had a 4.0 GPA, took part in 4 different extra curricular activities, not including helping set up prom. Plus she was a published author for her parents citywide newspaper.

 

She was so under the radar at school it was impossible to really find someone who knew basically anything about her. Other than her name of course.

 

Betty Cooper.

 

But technically, that wasn’t her _actual_ full name. It was Elizabeth Cooper. Jughead had only actually found that out after their third date.

 

Well it wasn’t technically a _date_ , but he was letting the meaning blur a bit in this case.

 

It was also the day she stopped talking to him.

 

They had spent the day in the backyard of her house – only allowed because Betty’s parents were away at some “Small town newspaper meeting” in Pembrooke. Whatever that meant. It was super official and lowkey important for all “members of the newspaper community” to be there. So they were out of Riverdale for 3 days straight. Betty had called him asking if he was up for another homework session.

 

Of course it wasn’t actually homework that was being done.

 

Well, for him anyway.

 

Betty’s resolve is impossible to sway when it comes to whether she should stop doing her work or not. Jughead had tried to convince her to take a break for well over an hour and a half, but with no prevail. Betty trudged on with her work until later that night.

 

When she finally put her pencil down and sighed, Jughead knew her resolve had worn out.

 

He smiled at her, leaning back on his elbows. He was sprawled out on the blanket they had laid down to stop the grass from itching their legs. It was large, unbelievably soft, and now covered with a shit tonne of books.

 

“Finally done with your self sabotage?” He quirked a brow, playful smirk dancing on his lips. She scoffed at him, but kept her eyes on the book in front of her.

 

After awhile she asks, “How do you do it?”

 

Sitting up, Jughead leaned forward, hands on his bent knees. “Do what?”

 

Betty let out a low groan, hands on her head. “This!” She swung her arms out around her. “How do you just stay so … disconnected from the world?”

 

He was shocked. “What exactly do you mean?”

 

Betty opened her mouth, then closed it once more. Finally, she spoke. “You’re just so nonchalant about everything.” She pointed a long finger at his chest. “You don’t care about social standards.” her finger retracts as she places her hand on the blanket in front of his legs. “You don’t care about school.” She looked down at her papers, moving them slightly. “And you don’t care about what people think of you.” Her hand came out to lay on his chest.

 

His breath caught in his throat, heart pounding against his rib cage. He was sure she could feel it, especially with the way the corners of her lips curled upward.

 

So he did what any sensible teenage boy would do.

 

He cleared his throat and made a joke.

 

“Is this where you tell me you’re secretly a robot and here to _save my soul_?” He placed a hand on his chest, above his heartbeat – and Betty’s still steady hand.

 

She stared at him for a few seconds, eyes wide and body tense. Then she dropped her head and let out her heavenly laugh. It was louder than most times, and her body more animated. Shoulders shaking and fingers curling into fists as she leaned forward, head on Jughead’s shoulder. He smiled down at her, watching. He’d never seen her so lively before. So open and carefree.

 

_Ask her now idiot!_

 

He shook his head, leaning back slightly and laughing along with her.

 

They had spent the rest of the evening together, lounging on the blanket, snacking on basically anything. Betty made a joke about how Jughead had a black hole stomach – impossibly deep, and unable to fill. He had returned the joke with a sly grin, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her face had flushed, her bottom lip between her teeth in a small smile. His hand lingered, fingers lightly running down her cheek. She leaned into his palm, eyes fluttering closed.

 

Thinking back to it now, Jughead realized he should’ve kissed her then.

 

But like the dumb ass he was.

 

He didn’t.

 

Instead, Jughead popped his collar, corners of his lips curled upward in a smug smirk, and he made the stupidest joke he could think of. “So is this the part where we make out?” He wiggled his eyebrows for good measure.

 

Betty’s smile dropped. She pulled away and retreated to the other side of the blanket. He could tell she was uncomfortable, with the way her hands curled into fists, her eyes staring down. She began pulling together her papers, busying herself with anything.

 

He reached a hand out. “Hey, I didn’t mean it.” She flinched from his touch, dropping the papers she just collected.

 

“I think you need to go.” She stated shyly.

 

Jughead dropped his hand to his side, staring. After a few very long moments passed, he finally asked, “What. Why?” He reached a hand out once more. Betty stood quickly, flying up the stairs and only stopping to speak over her shoulder.

 

“You just need to leave.” A minute went by before she added. “Please.”

 

Her small frame disappeared behind the door, leaving Jughead standing there, dumbfound and hand still extended.

 

That was 5 days ago, and Betty hadn’t seen, talked to or even looked his way since. He’d tried to talk to her the following Monday, determined to figure out what changed, but she wouldn’t have any part of it. Simply shook her head and turned the other way, stating she didn’t have time to talk. He nodded at the back of her head, watching her walk away with her head hung low and shoulders tense.

 

“I think I messed things up with Betty.” He finally blurted out, not looking up.

 

Joaquin sighed from somewhere beside him, sitting down and placing his hands on his knees. “What’d you do this time?” It was said in a joking matter, Jughead knew that, but it stung nonetheless. He just shook his head, rubbing his hands over his face. “Dude, I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on.”

 

Jughead groaned, leaning back, he looked up his friends face. Concern was laced through every bit of Joaquin’s face. Another groan, before he opened his mouth and told him the story.

 

The whole story.

 

“So you’ve been seeing Betty like this since the bet began?” Jughead just nodded, unable to form sentences. “Why though?”

 

Why was the real question. Jughead just shrugged, playing with his long fingers idly. “At first I asked her to prom, you know, for the bet. She said no. But then I saw her in the hall, when the jocks were bullying Trev, and -” he inhaled deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose, “- I don’t know. Then I saw her again, and she agreed to go on an actual date with me cause I made her laugh.” He was rambling now, he knew it. But that date was one of the best days of his life.

 

They had spent the day at the Bijuu, double feature of course. They ate popcorn, made terrible jokes, laughed far too loudly for a theater, and just enjoyed spending time together. He didn’t even try to hold her hand or kiss her, for fear of ruining the fun they were having.

 

“We just had so much fun together. And she had her hand on my chest. I thought she wanted to kiss me.” He was out of breath, pulling his fingers painfully.

 

Joaquin sat beside him, hand on his shoulder as he said, “Ok, relax. Deep breathe. Look, we’ll get you through this.” He just nodded, following the instructions. After a few deep breathes, his head began to clear a bit. “You ok now?” When Jughead nodded, Joaquin clasped his hands together. “Alright, here’s how we fix this.”

 

Jughead listened obediently, taking in the information with ease. “Since it seems like you humiliated her, you gotta do it now too.” When he quirked a brow, confusion on his face, Joaquin just laughed. “You have to make a fool of yourself to win her over dude.” Joaquin said it so matter of factly, like he’s known the answer since the beginning.

 

Nodding slightly, Jughead asked. “Ok, but how?”

 

Joaquin’s smile was anything but sincere as he clapped his hand on Jughead’s shoulder. “You’re gonna ask her to prom again.”

 

“How am I gonna ask her when she’s isn’t talk-”

 

Joaquin stuck up a finger, silencing him. “You’re gonna ask her in front of the _entire_ school.”

 

Realization coursed through his veins as Joaquin’s smile grew. Shaking his head vigorously, Jughead stood. “Absolutely not.”

 

Joaquin sighed, standing too. “C’mon man. You like her right?”

 

Jughead nodded, crossing his arms. “Yeah, so?”

 

“Then this is the only way to win her heart over!”

 

“You know, it’s really easy to tell you’re gay when you talk like this.” He stated blatantly, frowning.

 

Joaquin just shrugged. “Yeah, so?” He teased, poking a finger at Jughead’s chest. “Are you going to man up and go get your lady?” He was wiggling his brows now, shaking his hips to imaginative music. It was all so surreal.

 

Could he really do it?

 

Finally, letting out a low groan Jughead nodded. “Fine!”

 

Joaquin squeaked, cleared his throat quickly, and clapped his hand on Jughead’s shoulder once more. “Ok so here’s what we’re gonna do.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I kinda sorta fixed my computer! Though, it's still a little touchy so I will be a bit slow on my updates. But an update is here nonetheless! This chapter is a bit different in the format side of things, as its split up into both Jughead and Betty's point of view. Just seeing how it is! Tell me how you like it, or if you don't. I hope you enjoy the chapter though, much love.

“Elizabeth!”

 

Alice Cooper’s voice rang out through the small house, bouncing easily off the floral wallpaper walls adorned with family photos and other random decorations. Betty sighed quietly, standing. After a quick once over in the body length mirror, she padded her way down the steps, carefully balancing her weight between footfalls. As she neared the bottom, the sound of glass shattering emitting from the kitchen. She made her way to the adjoining room slowly, peering around the corner with ease.

 

“Can you just for once, get out of my way please!” Alice didn’t shout, but her stern voice was enough to make even that of the strongest will bend. Betty’s father, Hal, shook his head and spun on his heel, passing her as he made his way to the stairway for the basement. Alice let out an exasperated sigh, tossing her hands in the air and letting them fall to her side. Betty stood in the doorway, waiting patiently and quietly, watching her mother fume. Finally, Alice’s eyes landed on her, and her whole body went timid. “I see you finally got your lazy butt out of bed.”

 

Betty simply nodded, taking a few quick steps to the island in the midst of their kitchen and reached for a muffin.

 

“Are you sure about that honey?” Alice’s voice halted her fingers mere inches from the pastry. “Don’t you think you’ve been having a bit too much carbs as of late?”

 

She curled her fingers into her palm, retracting her hand as she glanced at her mother. Alice simply shrugged a shoulder, sipping her coffee. She padded over to the refrigerator, quickly grabbing a bottle of water before seating herself at the table. “Hey, I never asked. How was the meeting you and dad went to?”

 

Alice sat across from her, scrolling through her phone as she sipped her coffee. “It went well. Same as any other time.” After a few moments a silence, she added. “How about you? I presume your weekend was lonely?” She pursed her lips together, eyes never falling from the screen.

 

Betty took a deep breath, a quick sip of her water before saying, “Actually, I spent Saturday out in the back studying…. With a friend.”

 

The mug in Alice’s hand nearly shattered as it landed with a thud on the granite counter top of the island. “Since when did you have _friends_?”

 

Betty cleared her throat, placing her hands neatly in her lap. “Well, I do. He’s really sweet, even helped me study.” It wasn’t a total lie, but Alice didn’t need to know that.

 

“Excuse me?” Alice finally placed the phone face down on the counter, eyes falling on Betty's. “ _He?_ ”

 

She swallowed hard, fingers tugging on each other in her lap. Nodding, she quickly took another sip of her water, waiting.

 

After a long pause, Alice quirked a brow and asked, “Well who is he?”

 

It was a simple question. Nothing too crazy or too indulgent on her social life. A few moments passed before Betty finally sighed, “His name is Jughead. Jughead -”

 

“Jones?!” Suddenly, Alice was on her feet and around the island in an instant, hand coming out to pull Betty off the chair by her upper arm. “Do you _know_ who the Jones’ are?!” This time she was shouting, shaking Betty’s whole body as she spoke. “They’re criminals Elizabeth! They run the Southside Trash gang! The _Southside!_ ” Alice’s face was red with anger, or maybe she was out of breath. Either way, the grip she had on Betty’s arm was tightening quickly, pain flaring at the source. Wincing, she unsuccessfully tried to pull away, only managing to jam her hip into the granite instead.

 

“Listen to me Elizabeth! These men, _that boy_ , they are nothing but trouble. And Cooper women stay away from trouble! We aren’t apart of the danger, we write about it! Tell the world about it. Not live it. And I will have no more of this Jones boy on my property, or have my daughter anywhere around him!” Alice finally released her grasp, Betty scurrying away to the doorway to the living room in a hurry. “The Jones men are not to be apart of your – our – life, got it?” Betty nodded, hand rubbing her wounded arm in an attempt to make the pain ease slightly.

 

After a moment of silence, Alice nodded to Betty, turned on her heel, and plopped back down with grace, picking her discarded phone up quickly. Betty timidly turned around, inching to the front door quietly. She was halfway out of the door when she heard her mother add, “The Jones men aren’t that of Fairy tales. They don’t bring you a _happily ever after,_ they take it away.” Biting her lip to ask what her mother meant, Betty quickly closed to the door and took off in the direction of school, idly pulling her shirt sleeve down to cover the reddening finger marks so visible on her fair skin.

 

* * *

 

 

“I don’t think I can do this man.” Jughead’s hands were wringing together, eyes darting back and forth between Joaquin and Archie who stood before him.

 

Fighting a smile, Archie placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing slightly. “It doesn’t matter if you _can_ do it bro, you just have to now.” Archie’s eyes scanned his body for what seemed like the tenth time.

 

The outfit Jughead was wearing was anything but that of a Southside Serpents everyday attire, especially the pointy shoes. Joaquin had stated he bought it “specifically for the dire situation!” or something along those lines. And although it fit along really well with his crazy plan to get Betty to say yes, Jughead was still really skeptical to make a complete and total fool out of himself.

 

Joaquin came to stand beside him, arm draping over his shoulder. “You’ll be fine, just take a deep breath, and say exactly what we rehearsed. Ok?” Jughead nodded, the bells on his funny looking hat jingling along too. Groaning, he turned on his heel and took a deep breath. After a quick glance at his watch, “Ok guys! Move out!” Joaquin shouted, wiggling his finger around at every idle teenage boy in the room. After a few moments of people filing out, Joaquin fell in step beside him with ease. “Go get her Jug.” With a wink, and a weird bow, Joaquin was off.

 

With a shaky breath, Jughead adjusted his mask, looked over his absurd outfit once more, then took off for the cafeteria. Lunch time meant everyone would be here, everyone _including Betty_.

 

Their cavalry bound through the halls, sparking shocked glances from teachers along the way. But most just shrugged it off, nothing new in the days of Riverdale high. Some stopped to ask, but with few words uttered, the group descended upon the cafeteria within 5 minutes. Joaquin appeared once more, pulling people to their respective spots, going over the routine once more. They’d been at this for a week, practicing after school each day as well. It was surprising how many people went out of their way to help Jughead with this feat, but he was grateful nonetheless. Going over the steps in his head, he didn’t notice Archie standing beside him until he spoke.

 

“Is this all really worth the bet dude?” He quirked a ginger brow, arms idly by his side. The costume Archie had on constricted his arm movements, so his normal stature of crossing his arms and looking brooding was too difficult to pull off. So he just looked awkward and uncomfortable, which, by most standards, everyone with them was feeling something similar.

 

As he shrugged, Jughead thought back to the beginning of their bet. It was so simple then. Ask her out, if she says no, you still get the guitar. But was that and the money really worth all _this?_

 

A small flicker of light crossed his mind, before it erupted into a sea of blonde hair and green eyes. Pink lips in a smile, the melody of her laugh, the feeling of her hand on his chest and her face in his hand. The flutter in his chest when she looked up through her lashes at him, the taste of her minty breath mingling with his when he teased her in the library. Betty Cooper was like a drug, one far more addictive than any he’s tried before, and before much thought went in it, Jughead nodded to his friend.

 

“She’s worth all this.” And with that he set off, a new found determination in place of his weariness.

 

* * *

 

 

Betty was seated at a relatively empty table, not that people didn’t like to sit with her, she just enjoyed reading during her lunch or getting some more homework done.

 

A group of students were talking loudly off to her right, near the main entrance. She excused it as some sort of debacle occurring, maybe the jocks were bullying some poor kid again.

 

She was biting into a crisp apple when the horns began to sing. Looking up, mouth open and poised to bite, Betty watched in awe as a sea of costumed men flooded the large room. Snapping her mouth shut to avoid laughing, Betty watched as they danced around, each of them masked with a different set of colors. Some were bright green, and very bold, other were more relaxed, dressed in a soft yellow. As she watched the dancers, bobbing her head with the music playing along, she didn’t notice the rainbow clad masked man approach her table…

 

Until he cleared his throat.

 

Betty nearly dropped her apple at the sudden intrusion, mouth dropping open as she took in the mystery mans appearance. He was dressed like the rest of them, but instead of adorning just one color, he had them all. The bright green, soft yellow, and he also had a stunning red mixed in. He had one of those wacky jester hats on, the one with the bells attached to each pointy end, and puffy pants to match. Closing her mouth slowly, Betty spared a quick glance around, noticing for the first time that the other dancers at halted their movements and come to stand around her table.

 

Clearing her throat, Betty finally asked. “Who are-”

 

“Elizabeth Olson! Opps, wait. I meant Cooper! My apologies, you two are very alike in beauty.” The mystery man’s voice was booming, very animated, like he was storytelling with funny voices. Finally catching the compliment, Betty’s cheeks flushed red, eyes darting around.

 

“I have come, from far and wide and my house,” a sea of giggles ran across the crowds of people around them, “to ask you this one favor.” Betty squeaked as he jumped on the seat across from her, shaking the table with his weight. He was taller than she had first noticed, but with the outfit and mask, it was impossible to tell who exactly it was. He began pacing the bench, exaggerating his movements tenfold, igniting another series of laughter to course through the onlookers. “You are the light of my life! The water to end my drought! The shining sea that I wish to explore!” Betty’s face flushed at the insinuation, looking down at her fingers quickly.

 

The table shook as he stepped onto it, kneeling down and placing a gloved finger under her chin. “You are my princess, dear Betty! And I wish not by to ask you this one simple question!” As he stood, he reached out to pull Betty to a standing position, signaling for her to join him on the table. She shook her head curtly, ponytail bouncing behind her head. He tugged again, his strength over her weight overpowering. Steadying herself on the table, she began playing with her fingers as she waited.

 

The mystery man turned around after checking to make sure she wouldn’t fall, arms up as he spoke to the crowd. “You see this fair maiden?” An array of yeah’s and yes’s flooded back to them from the people. “To all who may not know, this here is Betty Cooper!” A small set of hollers began, some shouts and a bit of wolf whistling followed. “AH!” He raised a finger, pointing in the direction of the wolf whistler. “She’s my fair lady, and mine alone!” Then he turned back to face her, slowly dropping to one knee as he spoke. “Will my fair lady to me the honor of going to the royal ball?”

 

The room fell silent as Betty watched in horror. All eyes laid on her, her fingers tangled together painfully, her lips was raw between her bottom teeth. A few moments passed and someone shouted from the crowd, “Say yes!” Then another. And another. Then before long, the entire crowd was chanting “Say yes!” Betty’s heart began to pound against her chest, eyes darting back and forth.

 

“Who are you?” She finally asked, just a whisper under the booming chants of her peers.

 

He stood then, hand coming out to grasp her clasped ones softly. She could see his smile through the mask, a spark of recognition burned through her as he reached up and tore the mask and hat away.

 

“JUGHEAD?!”

 

It took a second before Betty realized it wasn’t her voice that shouted his name. Turning her head to the side, she caught sight of a girl she hadn’t seen much of in the past few years. Sabrina stood at the edge of the ring encircling Betty and Jughead’s table, her olive skin was flushed red with what Betty assumed was anger.

 

“Not now Sabrina.” Jughead’s voice wasn’t animated like the storyteller masked man had been, but still loud enough for the crowd to hear. He reached an arm around Betty’s shoulder, pulling her close to his side before whispering in her ear. “I’m so sorry about before, please say yes.”

 

He let her go, taking a step back before turning 360 degrees around, smiling wide at the shocked faces of the crowd. Joaquin appeared at the side of the table, handing him his leather jacket before disappearing back in the crowd. Shrugging it on, Jughead raised his hand in the air, silencing the murmurs.

 

“Yes, I, Jughead Jones, leader of the Riverdale High Southside Serpents, just asked Betty Cooper to prom.” He crossed his arms over his chest, leather flexing against his biceps. “And it anyone has a problem with it,” He turned to where Sabrina still stood, “Then you can come ask me yourself.”

 

Jughead turned to Betty, hand outstretched from where he stood. She caught his eyes, something bright burning within his, as he waited. A smile danced on his lips, his arms flexed against the leather jacket. Betty watched in awe at how completely ok he was with making a total fool of himself. A flurry of memories took her by surprise, them at Pops, laughing and having fun. Then when they were in the library, so close but yet so far. The ghost of a kiss still played on her breath, still tingled against her lips. Then she realized something in the midst of her flashbacks; Jughead Jones was a cure.

 

He was the reason she smiled, and the only reason she could laugh. His smile was toxic in the sense it was impossible not to reciprocate. He was her romeo, and she was damn sure her mother’s words wasn’t gonna stop her from being happy for the first time in years.

 

So Betty took a deep breath, untangled her fingers, and reached forward.

 

Jughead’s blue eyes sparked with something as her fingers fell into place with his, a small nod escaping her still timid stance.

 

Then she finally opened her mouth and said, “Yes.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again sorry it took so long. I've been in a slump, writing is hard when life is sucky. But I did it! I like the fluff in this chapter, I hope you guys enjoy it too! I'll be hopefully updating the next chapter within the week, and trying to figure out how long this story will continue. Let me know! Much love.

“So what’s your favorite color?”

 

Betty looked up through her lashes, green eyes bright. A soft smile on her lips as she shrugged, “That’s a very ordinary question.”

 

They were seated in the Blue&Gold office at the school, – Betty sitting cross legged on the couch with Jughead on the floor before her, leaning back against the couch – a quiet escape from the bustling hallways and overtly obnoxious peers. Ever since the incident in the cafeteria, people consistently stared at the duo – especially when they were together.

 

Which was a lot these days.

 

Jughead was playing with her shoes, untying her laces and retying them up again. It wasn’t due to nerves, more so just something to keep his hands busy that didn’t involve touching her directly.

 

Which he wanted to do.

 

But she seemed to avoid.

 

Betty cleared her throat, a smirk on her lips as his head shot up to her face. Her brow quirked as she pulled her feet away from his hands and tucked them under her knees. “Did you hear me?” He shook his head no, eyes falling. Betty’s laugh was something he got to hear a lot of recently, especially in these past few days. It was mostly directed at him, but that isn’t relevant.

 

“I said-” she stated loudly, smiling as his head shot up, “-its blue.”

 

“Blue?”

 

“Yes _blue_. But not like baby blue, you know, like all the girls seem to like. But like, deep blue, like the color of the water in the ocean when its nighttime. Not black, but not quite just _blue_ , you know?” He was watching her lips as she ranted, eyes bright with wonder. Such a mundane question possessed such an intricate answer from Betty, always.

 

He loved that about her.

 

Granted, he loved a lot of things about her.

 

“What about you?”

 

Her voice snapped him back once more, eyes darting to hers as she waited. Then he realized what she asked. “Oh, uh. Black I guess.”

 

She frowned, body sagging as she sighed. “You’re boring.”

 

He slapped a hand to his chest, tugging at his shirt. “That hurts Betts, right in the heart.” Throwing his head back against her crossed legs, he continued to pull at his shirt, feigning pain.

 

“I don’t care.” She pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly. Peeking through his lashes, he smirked and continued thrashing limbs around, flopping like a fish out of water until Betty was laughing and pushing him off the couch.

 

He landed with a thud, right on his butt. Silence filled the air as she sucked in a breath. Blinking slowly, Jughead turned to look at her, horror crossing his features quickly.

 

“You pushed me!” He finally squeaked out, pushing up with his hands as he knelt before her. “How could you?”

 

Her hands were covering her mouth, no doubt in a bad attempt to stop her giggles. Green eyes wide as she watched him move around, staying stationary herself on the cushion.

 

He leaned forward, balancing on the balls of his feet as he placed his hands on either side of her legs. At this height, she was the one looking down on him as he stared up at her through his dark lashes, a small smirk tugging at his lips when he noticed her blush. Continuing to pull himself closer, he rested his forearms on the soft couch beneath her, his chest firmly against her crossed legs.

 

“Well?”

 

She jumped slightly, her knee almost connecting with his jaw as she promptly apologized. He reached a hand out, soothing her legs back down as he leaned forward further. Stopping his face just a few inches away from her face, he blew out a breath, halting her flurry of words.

 

“huh?” She blinked, eyes landing on him.

 

He smiled up at her, “I’m kidding. Relax.” Slowly, he stood. She visibly let out a breath, hands coming to smooth her hair down, even though it was still in the high pony tail she always sported. Jughead turned, trying to catch his own breath with his back to her still frame. After a few moments, a small hand was sliding into his, thin fingers tangling with his own. Blinking, he shifted to eye her closely, watching her push off the couch with ease, her long legs untangling with grace.

 

“I humbly apologize, my lord, for my betrayal.” She had a hand on her chest as she spoke, voice booming. A smirk crossed his lips as she tried hard to keep a straight face. Quirking a brow, he stayed silent.

 

A few long minutes passed before she finally let out a breath. “Fine then, I retract my apology.” Letting out a huff, she pulled her hand out of his and retreated to the door, reaching for the handle.

 

“Betty wait.” He called out behind her. A small smile crept up her lips as she bit her lip and waited for him to say more. When he didn’t, a tinge of something dark stirred in her chest. She turned on her heel after a few seconds, coming face to face with Jughead. She gasped at his proximity, immediately trying to take a step back to give space between them, but before she could, his arm reached out and snaked around her lower back, pulling her close.

 

Then his lips were on hers and everything faded.

 

The kiss was simple. A few moments of bliss and stars and fireworks and everything else that you hear about in cheesy romance novels. But it was more than that.

 

Jughead’s breath caught in his throat as his hands came to rest on her cheeks, lips exploring hers. She tasted like strawberries and mint, a normally weird combination that sent fire through his veins and a shock to his heart. Her lips were so soft against his own as he fought to contain his desire to nibble her lower lip, like she does when she’s studying.

 

Then he pulled away, not far, but rested his forehead on hers as he inhaled deeply. Betty’s lashes fluttered open as she sighed, watching him closely.

 

“So?” Her voice broke the silence, breath mingling with his own. Opening his eyes, Jughead smirked.

 

“I accept your apology.” With a wink he pulled away, avoiding her attempt at a swat as she laughed. “Come on, we have class.” Pulling her hand into his, he placed a chaste kiss on the back of it before opening the door and pulling her out into the hall. Shaking her head, Betty allowed herself to be dragged out, smiling at the boy in front of her.

 

* * *

 

 

“Yo Jug.” Jughead looked up at the sound of Archie’s voice, quirking a brow at his longtime friend.

 

“Yeah?” He was slowly getting ready for the dance, failing terribly at tying his tie. Sighing with defeat, he turned to where his friend stood, waiting.

 

“Dude, we gotta go.” Archie stated, heading somewhere behind him. A couple of minutes pass as sounds of rustling and groaning emit from Archie’s direction. Then he appears once more.

 

“I’m almost ready, just can’t seem to get this stupid tie to work properly.” Jughead huffed out, hands falling to his sides with a sigh of defeat.

 

“Dude, what are you talking about? We _need to go_.” The tone laced in Archie’s voice was anything but his calm, cool one. Jughead finally looked up at his friend, noticing for the first time what he was wearing.

 

Archie was clad in all black, - long sleeve shirt and jeans, combat boots adorned his feet as well. Jughead quirked a brow, opening his mouth then closing it once more. Looking closely, he could tell Archie was wearing a Kevlar vest under his shirt as well.

 

Which usually only meant one thing.

 

“No.”

 

Archie looked up at him, fingers still tying his boots tight. “What do you mean, _no_?”

 

Jughead shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “I mean no. I told you before, I’m done with deals man.”

 

Since they were Serpents by legacy, they were brought into the “deals” at a rather young age. Most common were makeshift drug deals with lower gangs within the area or surrounding towns. But every now and then they’d get wind of a buyer for weapons. No guns deals had been going down since the last one ended so horribly, at least not to Jughead’s knowledge.

 

Looks like he was out of the loop.

 

“Seriously?” Archie threw his hands in the air, eyes narrowing at him.

 

“Yeah, _seriously_. Do you remember what happened the last time?!” Jughead was shouting now, face red with exertion and anger. “We lost Caleb, in case your memory is shot. Our brother is dead!” His breathing was ragged as he paced the room, hands wringing together. “I told you already Arch. _We’re_ done with the deals.”

 

Archie stepped forward, his slight height difference making him look down on Jughead’s narrow eyes. “I don’t have to listen to you.” Jughead stood tall, not wavering his composure as Archie let out a huff. “I don’t care if you’re not coming. I’m going.”

 

“Arch, don’t be a dumb ass.” Jughead blurted out as his friend turned on his heel, heading for the door. “Please!” Archie halted in his tracks, hand hovering above the doorknob.

 

“I’m doing this Jug, with or without you.” And with that he was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LONGEST CHAPTER TO BOOT. Are you excited? Please don't hate me for the cliffhanger. I love you guys so much! Enjoy,

“Elizabeth! Dinner is ready!”

 

Alice’s voice rang through the house, sending chills down Betty’s exposed back. Taking a deep breath and sparing one more glance in the body mirror, she cracked her door open a bit and shouted a quick “be there in a minute!” before promptly shutting the door and leaning back against it.

 

Tonight was prom – _the prom_. The one she wasn’t even going to attend, let alone fret over. But here she was, standing half naked in her bra and panties while she internally struggles about what dress she should wear.

 

On one hand there’s the pink one, pretty and safe by anyone’s standards. It was comfortable and easy to move in, great for the occasion on all accounts, and it made her feel confident.

 

But on the other hand, there was the daring black dress, strapless and silk, it hugged her curves so closely it left little to the imagination. It was completely irrational to even consider wearing that dress, considering she’d never even shown past her knees to the student body, let alone Jughead. But there was a tiny piece of her mind that was clinging to the idea, however preposterous it may seem, that Jughead might enjoy her wearing it.

 

Not that she should let that dictate what she wears, considering she would still have to head downstairs and convince her mother of letting her out later than curfew, but that was a battle to be won at a later time.

 

Sighing, Betty just shrugged her shoulders and reached for the pink dress, slipping it on easily as she sat at her vanity, applied a minimal amount of makeup and stood.

 

One more glance in the mirror before Betty took a deep breath, counted down from 10 and made her way downstairs.

 

“There you are! What took you so long-” Alice’s voice cut off, 3 pairs of eyes landing on Betty as she landed on the last step of the stairway. “Where do you think you’re going?” It wasn’t a question, not really anyway. Her voice was clipped, stance tall, hands on her hips. Betty knew better than anyone that this was an _Alice Cooper specialty_ stance, dedicated for her mistakes or scolding small children at the conventions they went to.

 

Sighing, Betty stepped down onto the landing and reached for her shoes. Swiftly putting them on, she stands once more, clasping her hands together tightly behind her back. “Prom is tonight, and I was wondering if I could go.” She knew better than make it seem like a question, considering the time spent on the receiving end of Alice Cooper’s parenting style.

 

Her mother quirked a brow, fingers digging visibly deeper into her sides as she shifted feet. “Oh?” A few tense moments past by in an agonizingly slow pace before Alice spoke again. “With whom?”

 

Betty knew she should lie, come up with a reasonable male figure to spit off as her date of choice but her mind was coming up with blanks.

 

Kevin? No, the whole town knew he was gay. It was as scandalous as her little black dress to consider lying about him being her date.

 

Trev? He was a pretty chill kid, moved here a few months back. They had chemistry together and he was always smiling at her. But the “outsider” label stuck with him harshly, many older folks giving him hell for not being a “true Riverdale citizen”.

 

All the other “respectable” boys were either taken or opting out of attending, many of whom gave statements in the issue of the paper last week as to why. So with a final sigh, Betty gave in the her mothers scrutinizing glare and sunk her shoulders a bit.

 

“Jughead.” her voice was just above a whisper, mumbling to her toes.

 

“Speak up Betty, I didn’t raise a mouse.” Betty flinches at the sharp tone, stepping back a bit.

 

Inhaling deeply, she opens her mouth and exhales, looking up at her mother once more. “I’m going with Jughead.” She stated clearly, loud enough for her mother, father and sister to hear from where they sat at the table.

 

Alice’s features went to stone, mouth sitting in a thin line as she stayed silent. Her father looked up from his plate of food, eyes wide with disbelief, hand poised with a fork full of pasta before he dropped it back down to his plate with a clink.

 

“Excuse me?” His voice was deep, not nearly as cold as her mothers had been, but close. He opened his mouth again to say more but Alice swiftly placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing slightly.

 

“I’ll handle this dear.” Alice looked up at Betty’s still frame, eyes narrowing as she rounded the table. Polly opened her mouth, but a quick glance from Alice sent her eyes down to the plate in front of her, back now facing Betty. As Alice approached Betty, she fought the urge to retreat away. Standing tall and squaring her shoulders, Betty waited for her mother to blow up.

 

“Give me one completely relevant, good reason as to why I should let you go whore yourself around with that _Jones_ boy tonight.” Hands on her hips once more, Alice stared down at Betty.

 

“Who said I was going to _whore_ around?” Betty asked incredulously. “It’s a dance mother! You know, what _normal_ people go to? To have FUN?!” She didn’t mean to shout, but this conversation was exhausting and she was going to be late to their meetup. Prior to tonight, Jughead had sat her down and talked out the details pertaining to “the night,” - whether Jughead was going to come pick her up at home, and risk a severe verbal onslaught by the infamous Alice Cooper, or to schedule a meet up place and time so they both survived the night. They opted for the latter and came up with the idea of meeting in front of the parking lot at the school by 8pm sharp. With a quick glance over her mothers shoulder, Betty caught sight of the clock that read **7:46pm** and her eyes went wide.

 

“I will not just let you leave this house to go parading around town with that Southside trash, ruining my good reputation along with that of the Registers!” Alice’s face was slightly red, from anger or something else, Betty couldn’t tell. Hearing her mother call Jughead names sent a flare of white through her vision though.

 

Trying to cool her rising anger, Betty closed her eyes and counted down from ten in her head, clenching her fists together tightly. Once she reached one on her countdown, she inhaled and exhaled deeply, opening her eyes once more.

 

 

“I don’t honestly care what happens to your _reputation_ , mother. But I’m going tonight. And don’t even try to stop me, got it? You want the whole town to know about your crazy daughter? The one with the panic disorders and depression?!” Her voice was raised once more, but this time it was in her control. Her green eyes never wavered as she stared down her mother, shoulders squared and hands at her sides. “I’ll be back later, don’t wait up.” She stated coolly, turning on her heel and heading for the door.

 

“Don’t come back here tonight, you hear?” Her mother’s voice rang out behind her, more emotion in those few words than the entire conversation beforehand.

 

As Betty walked down the stone pathway to the Cooper house, she turned and began walking backward, a wicked smile on her lips. “Who said I was even gonna be home tonight?” She winked at her mother before turning back around and heading down the sidewalk to the school, a faint music could be heard through the quiet streets.

 

* * *

 

 

“ _I’m going Jughead, with or without you.”_

 

Archie’s voice still bounced around Jughead’s skull, eerily deeper than normal. He was pacing his room at the Whyte Worm, tie completely forgotten as he wondered what he should do.

 

Tonight was Prom. He was supposed to go meet up with Betty and have a good time. He even bought a _tie_ for gods sake!

 

But low and behold, Archie decided it was going to be a fantastic idea to tag along with a deal tonight. A fucking deal. One so incredibly similar to that of the one where they lost a brother in arms. Jughead’s heart was hammering in his chest as he thought back to that dreaded night. The gunshots, the screaming, the blood, the smell of burning flesh. He remembered everything, and it haunted him everyday. They shouldn’t have been there that night either, but Jughead _insisted_ they get a front row seat at this part of the business, since they were to inherit the whole thing when they came of age.

 

But after that night, Jughead swore that this had to stop.

 

Too many Serpents died at the hands of possible buyers during gun sales. Many of whom Jughead grew up with or learned from. He spent hours arguing with his father, FP Jones, the leader of the gang, over whether they should stop the deals now or wait till Jughead takes over.

 

And from his knowledge, FP told the other elders there were to be a minimal amount of trades to be had in the coming years, to avoid dwindling numbers and the idea of recruiting new members.

 

But someone scheduled this deal, and Jughead couldn’t tell what pissed him off more – the fact that someone was going behind _his_ back, or that Archie was stupid enough to try and attend this thing. With a sigh, he turned on his heel and head out the door, down the hall and quickly opened the door of his fathers room.

 

FP looked up at Jughead as he entered, feet up on the desk in front of him. “What’s up Jug?” He quirked a brow, waiting.

 

“Who’s scheduling deals again?” He figured it would be easier to get straight to the point, his dad never liked the idea of beating around the bush either. And from the reaction of his father, Jughead knew it wasn’t in his knowledge that a deal was being made either.

 

His feet flew off the table in an instant. “What did you just say?”

 

Jughead shifted his weight, crossing his arms. “Someone is making deals again dad. And Archie is there!”

 

“What the hell is he thinking?” It wasn’t a question directed at Jughead in particular, but he still shrugged his shoulder as a response. FP flung his leather jacket over his arms quickly as he strode past his son. “I’ll get to the bottom of this. Ah ah-” He reached a hand out to stop Jughead in his tracks. “Let me deal with the elders, you go get that dumbass out of there before he gets hurt, got it?” Jughead sighed, contemplating an argument before sighing with defeat and nodding. His dad clapped a hand on his shoulder, nodding. “Good luck.”

 

Jughead raced down the stairway to the main entrance of the Whyte Worm, bolting past the double doors instantly. As he rounded the corner, he was nearly clothes-lined by an arm leaning against the outside wall. Skidding to a halt, he opened his mouth to yell at the guy to move before realizing the arm belonged to a woman.

 

A dark haired woman, clad in a tight black dress and nasty looking heels turned to face him, a sly grin across her lips. “Hey handsome, forget something?” She quirked a brow and jutted her chin to his untied tie that lay around his neck, completely forgotten to Jughead.

 

“Sabrina, I don’t have time for this. Please just go away.” He tried to bolt past her, hoping to find a trail to where Archie’s infamous deal was being held, but her body appeared in front of his view before he could move an inch.

 

“Why can’t we play like before?” She purred, a hand tracing his collar bone with ease. “We had a lot of fun together, don’t you remember?”

 

He pulled away from her hands, taking a full step back. “Look, I said this once and I’ll say it again. We’re done. Nothing more between us. So please just move.” He tried to step around her again, but she swiftly cut his trail off once more.

 

“Come on _Juggie_ ,” the nickname only Betty called him rolled off her tongue with ease, sending shivers down his spine. “Play with me.”

 

He narrowed his eyes at her, not caring what happened anymore. Without a second thought, Jughead placed a hand on either side of her, a grin plastered on his face as he stepped forward.

 

Then pushed her to the side and walked past.

 

“What the hell?!”

 

“I told you Bri, I don’t have time to play right now.” He called over his shoulder.

 

Her next words halted his feet in their tracks though. “I can tell you where Archie is.” He spared a glance over his shoulder, eyeing her closely.

 

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” He inquired, stance sideways in an attempt to make this conversation go by quickly.

 

She smiled at him once more, waltzing forward. “Cause the deal was set up through my father, duh.”

 

Jughead deadpanned, anger boiling in his veins quickly.

 

She piped up again, hand reaching out to land on his shoulder. “But before you get mad, yes, I remember that night. No I’m not trying to get anyone killed, but we’re having trouble, and the Serpents are the only gang in town still running guns.” He shrugged off her hand, putting another few feet between them. “And before you get even more brooding, I know all the details. But I didn’t know Archie was going to go. I made my dad swear there was to be no violence.”

 

Scoffing, Jughead turned his back to her. “We’ll see about that.”

 

Sighing, Sabrina sauntered past him, coming to stand beside her car. “Let’s go save the day Batman.”

 

* * *

 

 

Betty inhaled sharply, hands running up and down her arms to try and warm them from the chilly wind. It wasn’t a cold night, but she definitely should’ve worn a jacket or something, But she left the house in such a rush, the idea had slipped her mind completely.

 

Looking around once more, Betty sighed into her hands, tapping her foot on the ground below. She didn’t know how long she’d been waiting, but her fingers were too stiff to find her phone right now.

 

“He’s probably just running late,” she murmured to herself, letting out another wisp of breath into her palms.

 

“Or he stood you up.” A voice erupted behind her, deep and familiar. Betty turned and came face to face with Chuck Clayton, all star football player, team captain, and resident “good boy” among the masses. Sighing, Betty just turned back around, choosing to take the higher ground and ignore him. “You know, when I heard that _the_ Jughead Jones had made such a fool of himself in front of the school just to ask _you_ , Betty Cooper, out to prom. I was a bit taken aback. You see, I’ve always seen Jughead as a rival, in both women and school.” His voice was directly behind her, sending shivers down her spine that weren’t from the cold. “And when they told me he asked you to prom, I thought everyone was playing. You know, ‘the jokes on Chuck, we got you!’ sorta thing. But then I saw the video Reg took, and I just couldn’t stomach it.” His hand was on her shoulder then, sending warmth through her body at the contact, even though she didn’t want it to. He leaned down to whisper in her ear behind her, the proximity of his lips sending another wave of shivers down her spine.

 

“Then I found out it was all a bet. And the world makes sense again.”

 

The words froze her muscles, sent wave after wave of nausea through her stomach, and her heart began to hammer against her ribs. “What?” She squeaked out, voice a whisper compared to his.

 

“I said, “he spoke a little louder, a group forming around them now as he egged her on, “that the only reason Jughead Jones asked you to prom, Betty Cooper, was because he was in it for money.” A wicked grin crossed his face as her breathing began to speed up. “No one in their right mind would ever ask you to prom for any other reason.” His voice was cutting deep, a vicious onslaught of pain against her heart with each flick of his tongue.

 

“You’re wrong.” She pleaded, hands in tight fists at her sides. “Jughead is different.”

 

Chuck laughed then, a hearty laugh that had little emotion in it. “You’re right, Jughead is different. He only asked for $100. Anyone with a brain would’ve asked for triple that to put up with your boring ass for the night, especially since you won’t put out as well.”

 

Betty’s heart hammered painfully in her chest, her vision began to blur as unwanted tears threatened to spill over. She wasn’t going to cry, not in front of this crowd, or Chuck Clayton of all people.

 

“Aw, are you gonna cry?” Chuck cooed, laughter spread across the crowd of their peers.

 

Betty failed to keep her breathing under control, fingers clenching and unclenching in fists at her sides. Her vision was blurry and only getting worse, ears felt like water was in them. Without another word, Betty turned around and stormed off, ignoring the cat calls and Chuck’s voice from behind. She just needed to get away. Quickly finding her phone, Betty turned it on, the bright screen cutting through the blurriness with ease.

 

**9:16pm**

 

The time blinked begrudgingly at her, as if too mocking her shitty decision of a night. Sighing, Betty head in no particular direction, but only trying to get away from the looming music and crowd of people behind her.

 

* * *

 

 

Sabrina drove down an abandoned road, the gravel crunching soundly before the tires as they made their way to the deal location. She had tried to keep up a conversation with him during the ride, but Jughead would have no part. Just stared out the window and let his mind wander.

 

Why was Archie doing this?

 

Who was setting this deal up on the Serpents end of it?

 

A million questions swam through his brain as Sabrina tried and failed to keep getting him to talk. Finally the car halted, and Jughead was jerked out of his mind with a start.

 

Blinking, he looked around. But since they were seemingly in the middle of nowhere, he had no real idea what was around them. But off to the left were a few parked cars, some nicer than others. At the very end was Fred’s – Archie’s dad – old truck, and Jughead sighed with a bit of relief.

 

“I told you I knew where he was.” Sabrina’s voice broke him out of his temporary reverie. Shaking his head, he reached for the handle to open the passenger door when a loud _**bang**_ resonated clearly through the calm night.

 

Shooting a quick glance at Sabrina, Jughead threw the door open quickly. “You said there was no violence!” He shouted at her before closing the door.

 

“I thought that too!” She squeaked out, shutting the ignition off before bolting out of the car to follow.

 

Jughead took off before she got fully out of the car, heading in the direction of the sound with ease. Panic rose high in his chest as a barrage of unwanted thoughts surfaced. A million different pictures ran through his mind from the night where Caleb was shot, his blood on Jughead’s hands as she took his last breath. Shaking his head, he picked up the pace before erupting in a clearing slightly illuminated by a few torches and solar lights.

 

A few guys stood around, looking tense and poised with pistols in hand. They quickly shifted their attention to Jughead once he was clear in the opening. Throwing his hands up high, he halted his tracks instantly.

 

“I’m unarmed, I swear.” He blurted out quickly, to no one in particular. When the guns trained on him turned back to their original target, Jughead took a deep breath and exhaled in relief.

 

Then he turned to see what the guns were trained on.

 

A few feet away were a few Serpents, guns trained on the guys across the clearing. Most had Kevlar vests under their jackets, but Jughead assumed only he knew that due to experience. His eyes looked them over, one at a time, making sure none were injured. The 4 closest to him were seemingly fine, so he sighed with relief before slowly walking over behind them. Archie stood at the end of the line, guarding the cache crate of automatic weapons with timid force. He didn’t look over at Jughead’s approaching figure, just tightened his grip on the hilt of the gun in his hand, eyes narrowing.

 

“Now where were we?” A guy from across the way called out, quirking a brow.

 

“We were just about to leave, since we can’t seem to come to an understanding.” Cobra called out from the line of Serpents in front of Jughead. He was a second generation, like Jughead, but much older and less friendly. He also wasn’t in line of taking an elder seat anytime soon, so Jughead assumed he was the one in charge of this undermining deal.

 

“I don’t really like that plan.” The man across the way retorted, cracking the bone in his neck so loud even Jughead heard it. He flinched at the sound, so eerily similar to a gunshot he had to hold himself from ducking.

 

“Well we don’t like getting surprised, so it seems we’re both in the rough tonight.” Cobra called back, jerking his head to the side at Jughead. Nodding in understanding, he made his was quickly to the crate and placed his hand on the strap.

 

“I wouldn’t do that son.” Another voice came from across the opening, making Jughead flinch from the crate.

 

“He can do what he is told.” Archie retorted, voice so deep even Jughead had to strain to realize it was his. Taking the signal, he reached for the handle once more.

 

Then the shrill **BANG** of a gunshot split Jughead’s eardrums in pieces as he fell to the ground, failing to regain his composure quickly. A flurry of gunshots echoed through his ears, but the sound felt like it was traveling through water. With the noise nullified, Jughead tried to sit up once more. Finally managing to get on his hands and knees, he surveyed the area.

 

A few Serpents stood, still shooting at the reminents of the other guys. One Serpent lay clutching his arm, blood spilling down his fingers quickly.

 

Then Jughead’s eyes landed on the crumpled frame of someone so familiar, so close to home, he had to cover his mouth to stop from screaming at the top of his lungs.

 

A few feet away lay Archie, limbs unmoving as blood slowly began to spill around him. “No, no!” Jughead cried out, racing over to his friend quickly. Pulling him over, Jughead noticed the wound quickly. It was at his collar bone, a few inches from where his vest protected him.

 

“I’m sorry.” Archie spit out, blood spewing from his pale lips as he spoke.

 

“No, don’t worry. We’ll get you help, ok?” He quickly looked up and called for backup. Archie nodded slightly, eyes slowly closing. “No, hey. Look at me.” Jughead called out, shaking Archie slightly. “Talk to me man, you gotta stay awake. Tell me about Veronica, ok?”

 

Archie opened his eyes again, coughing slightly before smiling. “She’s great. Real pretty.” Jughead nodded, glancing quickly over his shoulder at the approaching car. Archie’s hand came to lightly tap on his shoulder, pulling his attention back. “Tell her I’m sorry..” Then Archie’s eyes slowly began to close, hand falling to his side.

 

“ARCHIE!”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I quite literally fell off the face of the earth. Turns out my mental health was deteriorating rapidly. In and out of the hospital, therapy every other week. I'm fine, in case anyone was worried. Just a rough little while. Plus, sadly, I don't know if anyone who reads this fic is a fan of KPOP, but a group i really liked, SHINee, recently lost one of its members to suicide. So that hit me hard.   
> I will finish this story tho. Already working on the last three chapters. So very sorry to everyone who was stuck waiting.

“Refill Betty?”

 

She looked up at the sound of her name, startled from the depths of her mind. Unable to trust her voice to work, Betty nods at the waitress, pushing the tiny ceramic mug across the diner table. Once the waitress fills the cup, she offers Betty another soft smile before retreating back to behind the counter.

 

She was seated at a booth – one tucked away in the back corner, mostly to avoid unnecessary interactions – at Pops. Having been here for just over 3 hours, Betty was beginning to feel a bit sleepy. Stifling a yawn, she glanced at her phone once more, grimacing at the bright screen and lack of notifications. Sighing, Betty pulls the cup closer, cradling the heat in her nimble fingers, the only source of comfort and warmth she’s felt since she slammed the door to her house. She leaned back against the faux leather booth, forehead against the cool glass.

 

“ _The Jones men aren’t that of fairy tales. They don’t bring you a happily ever after, they take it away.”_

 

Alice’s voice resonated loudly throughout Betty’s head, a dull reminder of the harsh truth her mother spat at her. Her eyes stung at the realization that her mother had been right all along.

 

Jughead wasn’t any different than most guys.

 

“ _The only reason Jughead Jones asked you to prom, Betty Cooper, was because he was in it for money.”_

 

It wasn’t Chuck’s voice that set her jaw in a tight line, it was the fact that he was right. She wasn’t worth a damn, especially not to someone like _Jughead Jones_ , resident bad boy, leatherclad hottie who didn’t spare a second for any girl.

 

Except Sabrina.

 

The familiar darkness that sat quietly in the back in her mind most of the time, tucked away from peeping eyes and nosy people, was rearing its ugly head as Betty played the events of earlier that night once more in her head.

 

Hearing Chuck say those nasty things was like a slap across her face – a cool realization of who she was becoming, and who she needed to get back to being.

 

She needed to be strong, to be back on her own. She didn’t need Jughead, or any man for that matter. What she needed was her life back – the life spent in solitude and the comfort of her pastel pink prison. She needed her therapist to give her meds once more, the kind that dull her creative mindset and push her brain into a lackluster routine.

 

She needed to go back to being Betty “The Prude” Cooper.

 

And she wasn’t going to steer away from herself anymore.

 

Inhaling sharply with newfound determination, Betty quickly swiped the stray tear from her cheek, stood from the booth and set her shoulders. Turning on her heel, she strode out of the neon lit diner, soft ‘ _clicks_ ’ from her shoes the only sound bouncing off the walls.

 

* * *

 

 

Sirens have always been a pain to listen to – especially when you’re riding in the back of an ambulance.

 

Jughead sighed, head in his bloody hands as he repeated the words in a whisper, again. It was a coping mechanism to avoid anger release. One he learned at a young age and stuck to. “The sun. The moon. The truth.” His voice was muffled as he spoke into his palms, not bearing to open his eyes as the paramedic continued to work on his friend before him.

 

“Male, age 17, gunshot wound upper body.” The paramedic lifted Archie’s shoulder slightly,

 

Patience was never one of Jughead’s strongest attributes. He could never stand in the lineup in 4th grade for long enough, or deal with the ridiculous schedule change at Riverdale High. Like who in their right mind _wants_ to sit in that hellhole for 9 hours?!

 

He sure didn’t.

 

But the biggest reason he lacked strong patience skills was because the cloud of uncertainty that always loomed over his head as he was stuck waiting. The unease in his gut that always screamed something was wrong. The tension in his chest that seemed to pull every string attached to his heart taught, causing a painful burn within. It was these things that truly set him off.

 

This was one of those times.

 

“Bullet still inside victim, need immediate surgery prep. Eta for arrival?” The paramedic asked the driver over his shoulder.

 

“5 Minutes sir.”

 

They arrived at the hospital in less, a team rushing Archie off to somewhere else – surgery presumably. Jughead was seated in one of the uncomfortable chairs placed around the hospital waiting room. His leg was bouncing up and down sporadically as he replayed the scene over and over. Over analyzing every minute detail – maybe he could’ve done something different? Said something to make Archie stay with him at the Wyrm instead of gallivanting off like a reckless buffoon.

 

But the more he thought about it, the worse his anxiety became.

 

Jughead jumped to his feet as a hand fell on his shoulder, alert and ready for whatever news followed. The hand that was on him less than a second ago retreated to the culprit, both hands now up in a surrender position.

 

“Jug. It’s me.”

 

His crystal blue eyes shot up, meeting the matching pair staring back at him. “Dad?” Strong arms enveloped Jughead before he could finish the question. His body was warm against Jughead’s. Moments passed as they embraced, silence filling the void between them.

 

Why was he here?

 

Then, all too soon, Jughead cleared his throat and pulled away. He was still covered in blood – Archie’s and maybe his? - and he didn’t want to stain his dads shirt as well. Though FP would not have cared. Jughead took in his surroundings once more.

 

Pale while walls, shitty patterns adorning the fake leather chairs, a few people sitting around – no one quite fully paying attention, but still alert and awake. No sign of Fred Andrews, or Archie’s mother either.

 

No Veronica either.

 

“Jug?” Fp’s hand came to sit on his shoulder once more. “You OK?”

 

It was such a simple question. Such a mundane worry from a father for his son. But Jughead couldn’t respond. Was he OK? He didn’t know. At least not for sure anyway. Realizing he hadn’t answered, Jughead shrugged in response, turning to sit back down.

 

Hours passed without a whisper of news. Jughead kept asking, kept badgering the receptionist for information about Archie’s surgery. People were running around, new arrivals showing up every few minutes or so. There was a particularly bad couple that came in on stretchers, blood everywhere, neck brace on both. Jughead turned away when he saw the girl, her blonde hair and small frame eerily similar to that of Betty’s.

 

Betty..

 

Jughead’s eye flew wide, hand slamming against his pockets as he frantically searched for his phone. Pulling the device from his pocket he hastily turned it on, wincing at the bright screen, and with shaky fingers scrolled through the notifications shown.

 

14 missed calls from Betty.

 

16 unread messages.

 

4 voice mail messages.

 

“Fuck!” He blurted out, looking up at the startled strangers around him, “Sorry..”

 

He pulled away from the waiting room, turning down a less populated hallway. Taking a breath, he dialed his voicemail, impatiently waiting for the messages to load.

 

“ _ **Voice mail message received at 7:54pm.”** **-** “Hey Jug! It’s Betty! Well, you probably already knew that – uh anyway. I know its a bit early still, technically we’re not supposed to meet up for another 5 minutes and im rambling. Ok uh, I’m here, waiting. See you soon, OK?” _

 

Biting his lip, Jughead pressed a button and the second message began to play.

 

“ _ **Voice mail message received at 8:15pm” -** “Hey Jughead, it’s me again, Betty. Just wondering where you were? Did something come up and you have to cancel? Just let me know soon, alright?”_

 

Her voice was dipped with sadness, Jughead could almost picture the frown adorning her adorable face. With a heavy sigh, he tapped on his phone and it played the next message.

 

“ _ **Voice mail message received at 8:49pm.”** \- “Hey, me again, should I be worried? Did something happen and you’re hurt? Jughead please just call me back, at least let me know you’re safe and something very important came up. Please.” _

 

“Something important did come up..” Jughead mumbled to himself, punching the digit on his phone once more to play the last message.

 

“ _ **Voice mail message received at 9:17pm”** \- “I guess you’re not coming. Maybe my mom was right. Maybe Chuck was right-” _Chuck?? Sighing heavily, Jughead tuned back in, listening intently. _“-Maybe it was just a mistake to say yes to you. I hope whatever they paid you was worth it in the end.”_

 

Jughead’s heart beat hard against his rib cage, eyes wide with horror at her last comment. “Shit fuck.” He pressed the buttons on his phone quickly, scrolling her messages she sent. Most were asking where he was, why he wasn’t answering his phone. He was leaning against the wall while reading, hunched over the tiny device in vain.

 

Then his knees went weak and he slid down the wall, landing painfully on his butt. _Who all knew about the bet?? Wasn’t it just Joaquin and Archie?_ Jughead thought to himself, head in hands as he sighed heavily. Grabbing his phone once more, he dialed Betty’s number, unsurprising when she didn’t answer, most likely given that it was 4 in the morning. Sighing again, he shook his head. _I’ll talk to her tomorrow, Archie needs me now._ Standing, he made his way back to the main waiting room, hand grazing the back of his neck with apprehension.

 

“Mr. Jones?”

 

Jughead’s head shot up at his name, eyes scanning the area until they landed on a nurse a few feet away, timidly holding a clipboard to her chest.

 

Hurrying over, Jughead extends his hand. “That’s me. Is Archie OK? How did surgery go?” He fired off question after question, impatience kicking into overdrive when the nurse didn’t respond right away.

 

She pursed her lips, looking around. “Is Mr. Andrews around? It may be better if I spoke with him first.”

 

Jughead frowned, anger rising. “Whatever you need to tell him you can tell me! Plus, Fred isn’t here.”

 

“I think it would be best if we contacted Mr. Andrews first-”

 

“Just tell me if Archie is ok!”

 

She pressed her lips in a thin line, eyes downcast as she quickly scanned the clipboard against her chest. With a small sigh, her eyes came back up to meet his. “Mr. Jones-”

 

“-Jughead. Call me Jughead.”

 

“-Ok. Jughead.” She said his name warily, seemingly testing it out on her tongue. “Your friend, Archie, is alive.”

 

Sighing with relief, he sunk his head down slightly, a smile breaking across his face for the first time in what felt like days. A bright escape from the darkness of the past few hours. A small chuckle escaped his parted, chapped lips, more breathy than sound. The nurses voice broke his triad of thoughts, bringing him back to the present. He looked up at her confused, “Sorry, what?”

 

She bit her lip, eyes avoiding his. “Archie is alive, but-”

 

“-but what?!”

 

“-But he’s in a coma.”

 

Jughead opened and closed his mouth a few times, unable to form words through the haze. A coma? Why? He thought back to yesterday morning, when Archie and him had walked into school together, laughing about something Jughead couldn’t recall entirely. He was so lively, so happy and awake. Taking a deep breath, swallowing hard, Jughead caught her eyes with his.

 

“Can I see him?”

 

She didn’t answer verbally, just nodded and turned. They walked quickly, silently, through the bustling hallways of the hospital emergency wing. Each step felt like lead weights on Jughead’s ankles, his nerves unwinding with every person they passed by. Finally, the nurse slowed her steps, coming to a stop in front of a door, identical to the rest, besides the number – **15** – staring blankly back at Jughead.

 

“He’s in here.” She stated quietly, arm extended to the door. Jughead nodded. He noticed her open her mouth and close it, seemingly fighting with herself to say something. Jughead supposed she decided to say it, since her voice broke the silence again. “Technically, visiting hours for ICU patients are just for immediate family members, and they run from 8am to 9pm.” He turned to look at her, opening his mouth to retort but she cut him off quickly. “But! From what I can see, you are his family, and you’ve been here all night, so you can go in.”

 

“Thank you.” He lightly placed a hand on hers, smiling small. She cast her gaze elsewhere, a small blush creeping on her cheeks.

 

“If you need anything, I’m here till 7am. Just come find me at the main desk.” Jughead nodded once more, hand reaching for the door and pulling slightly.


End file.
